


When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You)

by finkpishnets



Category: X Factor RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-02
Updated: 2010-11-02
Packaged: 2017-10-28 13:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/308188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finkpishnets/pseuds/finkpishnets
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt doesn’t understand why people say Aiden never smiles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You)

The judges call Aiden intense yet again, mention how serious he is, and Matt gets it, he does, because that’s the way Aiden is onstage (though he doesn’t understand why Cheryl insists on saying it negatively), but then amidst backing Aiden up, Dermot says to Konnie that Aiden never smiles, and, well.

That’s just not true.

“I don’t understand why people say Aiden never smiles,” Matt says a few days later, and he understands why Rebecca looks at him strangely because it’s sort of out of the blue.

“He doesn’t,” Cher says, and Harry nods.

Matt frowns. “Sure he does.”

“Yeah,” Liam says, “not really.”

“Bless him,” Mary says, “he’s just got a serious soul is all.”

Matt thinks maybe they’re all crazy.

 

+

 

Matt had first met Aiden properly on the flight the Australia and it’d been an instant connection, the sort Matt had been worried he wouldn’t find, and he’d found himself sighing in relief because going through this experience was going to be weird enough, but doing it without a friend would be a hundred times worse.

And then Matt had cracked a joke about the in-flight movie and Aiden had turned his head and smiled, wide and bright and kind of dorky, and something in Matt’s chest went _Bam_.

 _Oh shit_ , he’d thought, and that had been the start of that.

 

+

 

“Guh,” Aiden says, dropping onto his bed and burying his face in his pillows. “Brian wants me to loosen up this week but he keeps saying I look creepy when I smile.”

“I’m sure you don’t,” Matt says, and Aiden sighs.

“No,” he says, “I’m pretty sure I do. I just can’t seem to pull off the whole light-hearted, carefree thing.”

“Why should you?” Matt says, shrugging when Aiden turns to face him. “You already have a style. Why change it?”

“Yeah,” Aiden says, “but I’m gonna need to pull out something different soon or Cheryl’s going to convince the public I’m a one trick pony.”

“Okay,” Matt says, sitting up. “Come on then, show me your stage smile.”

Aiden groans and then props himself against his headboard and grins, and it’s tight and forced and, yeah, Matt can see why Brian didn’t like it.

He throws his pillow at Aiden’s head and then Aiden’s laughing and-

“There,” Matt says, “ _that’s_ the smile.”

Aiden’s face softens and Matt’s heart goes _baboom_.

“I don’t think they’re going to let you stand at the front of the stage and throw things at me just to draw it out though,” Aiden says, and Matt grins.

“I don’t know,” he says, “we could probably talk Dannii ‘round.”

“Hmm,” Aiden says. “Want to go see what’s for tea?”

“Lead the way,” Matt says, and he wraps his arm around Aiden’s shoulders as they reach the door, curling his fingers against Aiden’s collarbone.

“Thanks,” Aiden says, Matt grins.

“No problem,” he says, “and no more over thinking, okay?”

 

+

 

Aiden (predictably) freaks out on Friday night when it’s much too late to change anything, and Matt’s left searching the studio halls for him after Brian throws up his hands and declares himself done.

He finds Katie texting furiously on her phone outside the dressing rooms, and she’s the last person he really wants to talk to but he’s vaguely worried that Aiden’s busy strangling himself with his scarf somewhere, so he’ll take what he can get.

“Have you seen Aiden?” he asks, and Katie looks momentarily surprised before her smile’s fixed back on.

“Mister Grumpyface?” she says. “I think he’s hiding in the dance studio.”

“Thanks,” Matt says, and the word tastes bitter on his tongue but Katie’s already looking back at her phone so she misses the way his eyes narrow which is probably a good thing. She’d only end up telling the press they were in the middle of a bitter feud due to a bad break up or something, and that’s the last thing he needs.

The dance studio’s dark because not even Brian’s enough of a slave driver to have them sweating it out at ten o’clock at night, but Matt can see the shadow’s moving by the window. He makes sure his footsteps are loud enough that Aiden knows someone’s coming because the last thing he needs is to give the poor guy a heart attack, and then slides down the wall until he’s pressed against Aiden’s side.

“Hey,” he says, and Aiden hums a response. “I’m pretty sure I told you no more over-thinking.”

“I’m going to look like a twat,” Aiden says, and Matt smiles because Aiden’s sort of ridiculously unaware of the fact that he can do anything – even his creepy stage smile – and still have the hearts of girls (and Matt’s) everywhere, and it’s kind of adorable.

“No you’re not,” he says, and Aiden sighs, dropping his head onto Matt’s shoulder, and Matt brings a hand up to run through his hair.

“Yes I am,” Aiden says, and Matt can’t see but he’s pretty sure Aiden’s pouting, which shouldn’t be nearly as endearing as it is. “I should just never, ever smile in case I cause children to cry or something.”

“Shut up,” Matt says, rolling his eyes, “your smile’s gorgeous.”

It’s only when Aiden tenses against him that he realises what he’s said.

“Um,” he says, and then Aiden’s lifting his head and looking confused.

“You think-“ Aiden says. “ _Oh._ ”

And the thing is, he doesn’t look weirded out or disgusted, just a little shocked, and Matt blames that on the fact he thinks ‘ _Fuck it_ ’ and leans forward because he might as well dig the hole all the way.

Aiden breathes out in surprise when Matt covers his lips with his own, and there’s a moment where they both sort of sit there pressed together before Aiden lets out a sound that’s more than a little desperate and grabs Matt’s head, pulling him closer, and Matt just goes with it.

Kissing Aiden is nothing like Matt thought it’d be, it’s _so much better_ , and he can pretty much do nothing except sit there and let Aiden molest his mouth frantically, as if Matt’s going to disappear any second, and it’s ridiculously hot. He wonders if this is something that helps Aiden release some of his built up intensity, and if so he is one hundred percent available for the position regardless of Simon’s stupid ‘no relationships’ rule.

When they finally have to pull apart to breathe Aiden’s lips look full and bruised and his pupils are shot, and Matt groans into the space between them because _bloody hell_.

“So,” Aiden says eventually, and his voice is rough and ragged and Matt can’t help the way his brain automatically wonders just how much more he’d need to do to make it crack completely. “Um, what was that?”

“A kiss,” Matt says, and Aiden rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, cheers genius. No,” he says, “I mean, does that mean that you, like, _like_ me?” and it’s so nervous and _teenage_ that Matt can’t help laughing even as Aiden’s eyes narrow and he punches him in the arm.

“Yes,” Matt says when he manages to pull himself together, “yes I suppose it means I, like, _like_ you.”

“Tosser,” Aiden says, but Matt can see the faint beginnings of a blush darkening his cheeks. “I like you too.”

“Great,” Matt says, and he’s pretty sure it sounds a hundred times soppier than he’d intended.

“Yeah,” Aiden says, and he smiling, a new smile to add to the ever growing list in Matt’s head. “Great.”

This time when he leans forward Matt can feel the curve of Aiden’s smile against his lips and it’s even better.

 

+

 

Saturday night Matt performs early in the running list and his feedback’s good but he’s not really paying attention, is too busy wondering if he’ll have time to find Aiden before he goes on. By the time he’s offstage and done his bit for the cameras about how nervous but happy he is, Aiden’s no longer in the dressing room, and Matt can’t find him anywhere so he makes his way back to the side of the stage where he shouldn’t really be, but what the hell. No one’s going to call him out on it.

Matt’s not superstitious but he crosses his fingers as Aiden takes to the stage, and there’s a moment when the music first starts and Aiden’s looking down that Matt’s worried maybe Brian’s going to be right, maybe it’s not going to be enough, and God, he can’t imagine being in the competition without Aiden. But then Aiden looks up into the audience and opens his mouth, and he’s smiling the smile Matt’s known since the flight to Australia, the smile that’s going to be making people all across the country swoon, and Matt knows he’s got it in the bag.

Afterwards the judges sit in shock, Dannii looking all kinds of smug and Cheryl struggling to form words now she can’t throw about ‘intense’ like she’s not subtly trying to sway the public’s opinion, but it’s not until Simon grins and winks and tells Aiden that he’s quite possibly just won himself a ticket all the way to finals that Matt lets himself relax.

“Hi,” Aiden says when he walks off stage, sweaty and beaming. “What are you doing out here?”

“Well,” Matt says, “just because I couldn’t throw things at you doesn’t mean I couldn’t watch.”

Aiden laughs, and steps forward, faltering a little like he’s not sure if he’s allowed, and Matt grins and pulls him close and doesn’t care that there’s probably cameras around somewhere.

“Let’s get out of here,” he says when Trayc’s number starts. “I want some time with your smile before everyone starts on about it.”

Aiden laughs and blushes and says, “I didn’t look too creepy right?”

“Not creepy at all,” Matt says. “Why, were you still worried?”

“Nah,” Aiden says, and Matt bites his lip as Aiden runs his hand down his arm. “I think I just needed the right motivation.”


End file.
